Dear Editor, Have you or someone you know experienced hearing loss? Did an audiologist recommend that you get hearing aids? Were you shocked to discover that hearing aids cost from $2,000 to $6,000? Were you surprised to find out that your health insurance plan, if you had one, didn’t cover hearing aids? Did you struggle to…

By Paul Costello Vermont’s pandemic recovery is a catalytic opportunity for creative renewal. How do we work together to revitalize Vermont? Where do our values, principles, culture and economy fit together as we search for common paths to a more resilient, prosperous and welcoming state? Throughout this long year, the Vermont Council on Rural Development…

By Sec. Jim Condos Covid-19 has strained so many of our institutions over the last year. As our Vermont government agencies work to support our state through this crisis, we must always work to maintain the public’s right to know. Fortunately, in Vermont we have made great strides. Confidence in our public institutions is needed…

By John Casella Editor’s note: John W. Casella is chairman and CEO of Rutland-based Casella Waste Systems. Since 1977, when Casella built the first recycling facility in Vermont, I have worked alongside policymakers and community leaders to help make recycling economically and environmentally sustainable for Vermonters. Although the company has grown, our roots remain in Vermont…

Dear Editor, Wow! Yesterday was a beautiful Monday, 65 degrees and nothing but sunny skies. Being downtown it was terrific to see so many people out and about. Couples of all ages walking along holding hands, parents pushing strollers, restaurants with their tables full outside, people walking their dogs and a couple of musicians with…

Dear Editor, There is nothing that marks out America as a dead democracy more than our treatment of citizens in need of loans to meet basic human needs. The financial industry has had its knees on the necks of the orphans of our luxury society since the 1970s, when the industry purposefully and gleefully unraveled…

Dear Editor, “The evidence is clear,” stated Mary Newman, head of school at The Sharon Academy (TSA). “Starting the school day later makes a big difference to high school students.” For years, educators have known that starting the school day later helps teenage students’ sleep patterns, mental health, and academic achievement, explained Newman. “There is…

By Angelo Lynn Hunters and reasonable gun owners may be the only Americans capable of talking sense to Republican representatives in the U.S. House and Senate. That’s because political leeches like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, believe he is crowing to his base with his shoot-from-the-hip snipe that any calls for gun reform in the wake…

By Michael Shank Editor's note: This commentary is by Michael Shank of Brandon, communications director for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and an adjunct faculty member at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs. A local zoning administrator once told me — when I served as chair of the Brandon Planning Commission — that Vermont was…

Dear Editor, False prophets are not just a fixture of ancient times. In April of 2020, experts predicted that as many as 60,000 people might die from Covid-19 in this country. People reacted in disbelief. In a nation with such great technology, a fervent commitment to rule of law, churches inspiring neighborly behavior, and schools,…

Dear Editor, Editor's note: the following is an open letter to members of the Vermont Senate.  On behalf of NFIB and AGC/VT members in Vermont, we are writing to express our opposition to S.10, legislation that was intended to hold harmless small businesses from the historic event – pandemic unemployment in the magnitude of $1…

Dear Editor, I stayed with Henry Miles for three years while going to school in Rutland. He gave me shelter from the storm. He did not drink one drop for three years while I was there, but I needed to go to take care of a relative who had dementia out of state. I would…

Dear Editor, Editor's note:  The following is an open letter from Vermont students to Vermont representatives. We, the undersigned Vermont students, wish to convey the urgency for the passage of S.53. Period poverty is real and pervasive, and it affects many Vermonters. You have the ability to help end that and provide the equal footing…

Dear Editor, The Rochester/Randolph Area Sports Trail Alliance (RASTA) is embarking on a name-changing process. We feel our acronym evokes associations to a name that isn’t ours to use. Out of respect for the Rastafari religion and movement, we will soon be changing the name of our club. This name-changing process offers the opportunity to…

By Richard Watts and Meg Little Reilly Editor’s note: Richard Watts is the director of the Center for Research on Vermont, and Meg Little Reilly is a Vermont writer and editor with the Community News Service (a program which pairs college students work with professional editors to write news stories for local papers around Vermont.) With needed…